A dark room lit by a flickering TV. An ashtray smoldering with the remnants of a lipstick stained cigarette. Stubble breath with whiskey at the forefront. All these images would fit spectacularly into the worlds The Longwalls create – and lucky for us, we now have a bunch of new worlds to explore.

After a series of killer EP’s The Longwalls have released a near perfect tome of Americana-infused fuzz pop in their new LP, Gold Standard. Over a year in the making, Gold Standard features 11 standout tracks, with the first driving single “Home” kicking the door open wide and allowing burners such as “Simple Thoughts” and “Too Many Prayers” to tear your heart out.

Episode 67 was recorded live on 2/15/15 as Cambridge and Boston were being blitzed by yet another blizzard. Unable to get to the studio at WEMF Radio due to white out conditions outside – I bunkered down in the ice tomb I call my apartment and got weird with a psychedelic gonzo mix.

When it comes to sports I’m an unequivocal homer. The color of my glasses are often rose while the cup’s consistently half full. That said, I’ve had mixed feelings on the Boston music scene over the past decade. But – as with everything there’s peaks and valleys, and as such, it’s become increasingly hard not to get vertigo for the scene’s been riding a steep apex for awhile now – and bands like Soft Pyramids are a reason why we’re continuing to rise past the already established summit.

The five piece from Somerville weave icicle sharp guitars around a tight rhythm section that evokes early Radiohead & mid-career Spoon or Wilco. There’s no gimmick to the music, no drastic changes in tempo or style, just tight, solid, guitar driven angular pop. With track’s like “Around This Town” (video below) – it’s becoming hard not hear anything but roses around Boston, blizzards be damned.

Currents are a three piece from Boston who, as their Facebook page aptly states, play “post-whatever” type of music. There’s an underpinning of hardcore in their tracks – with big assed grooves and staccato breaks – but there’s also something else behind it all – making repeated listens a rewarding experience. Is it post-punk? Post-Rock? Post-Hardcore? I’m not sure – but like they said, whatever, it’s pretty darn good.